The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

April 2nd would have been the late Jack Webb ’s 100th birthday! Our mysterious listener Mark recommended that we celebrate the occasion and by happy coincidence, our mysterious listener Tim recommended that we listen to “The Big Ruling” from Webb’s signature series, Dragnet ! This particular episode depicts an investigation of a heroin ring and evidence that law enforcement is no longer what it on...

This week we seek high adventure with the episode “The Shanghai Secret,” from the series, Voyage of the Scarlet Queen . Ship’s Master Kearney cannot set sail until the murder of his first mate is solved. But staying ashore makes him an easy target for an international conspiracy. Can Kearney trust anyone? Who did kill his first mate? Just how amorous are his feelings for his ship? Listen for yours...

Our thanks to Dawn who recommended this week’s visit to the Listener Library, “Where Do We Go From Here?” from Nightfall ! This episode of the beloved series tells the tale of a man who has been left completely immobilized in a death-like state after a car crash. Can he find a way to communicate that he is awake and alert? What fate awaits him if he fails? Are Canadian ambulances better than those...

Our Valentine’s Day celebration is over a month late and still not what we intended, but we won’t let that stop us! As a gift for his wife Adrienne, Joshua chose an adaptation of a story by one of her favorite authors, Dorothy Sayers . “The Cave of Ali Baba,” was an early episode of Suspense that tells the story of an infiltration into a secret cabal of thieves. The tale is notable for featuring a...

When the world has turned upside down and nothing makes any sense, it’s time for Dark Fantasy ! This week’s episode, “Cup of Gold,” features a golf tournament where the winner has been murdered! The prime suspect is a woman who can recall neither why she was there nor why she presented the winner with a counterfeit trophy. What secret drove her to this dire situation? What past crime was being ave...

This month marks 100 years since the birth of actor/writer/director/ producer Antony Ellis ! Our listener Mark suggested we celebrate Ellis’ remarkable career and we have chosen an episode of Escape to do just that! The Abominable Snowman was written and directed by Ellis and it tells the tale of a hunting expedition in the Himalayas determined to track down the legendary yeti. What do the local g...

Our thanks to Mark for sending us to the Listener Library this week for a special treat, “The Case of the Flaming Skull,” an episode of The Shadow that was rebroadcast as part of Mystery Playhouse . It’s a treat because we get Peter Lorre serving as host to the Shadow! In this particular episode, our masked hero squares off against a glowing skeletal thief who may have abducted a scientist! What h...

There’s been a murder and we’re joining San Francisco P.I. Candy Matson to find the solution to “The Cable Car Case!” When a shopping trip puts Candy on the same cable car as a murder victim, our sharp-witted heroine sees a chance to earn a few bucks if she can solve the crime before the police. How was the murder even possible in such a crowded space? Will Candy’s investigation put her in the kil...

This week is the second of two episodes in which we check out the beginning of Suspense and its end! “Devilstone” was the last episode of the classic series to be broadcast and it features the tale of a haunted Irish manor that has a peculiar effect on the dead. What secret drove the previous tenant mad? Will this story serve as the ideal finale for the famous series? What sound does a peahen make...

We keep surpassing Patreon goals! This week, we are cerebrating with episodes featuring the beginning and end of Suspense ! For the first part, we listen to the (sort-of) audition episode presented as part of the Forecast series in July of 1940. Alfred Hitchcock (sort of, not really) presented this adaptation of the short story and novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes , the same source material he adapte...

We have passed another Patreon goal and to celebrate we are exploring strange new territory: classic radio comedies! This week we listen to three different comedic takes on our usual suspense and horror diet. First, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis get the creeps with Peter Lorre! Then Stan Freberg parodies a beloved crime drama! And finally, Jack Benny puts his own spin on a classic horror anthology!...

It’s time to look back over the last year and choose which of the episodes we listened to stood above the rest and which sank to the bottom! Based on listener polls, the learned opinions of esteemed special guests, and our own unfocused rambling, one episode shall be declared champion and another shall be declared the worst. Which episode will bask in glory? Which will wallow in shame? Do we actua...

Pardon our delay! Apparently we were a little slow getting back from the Listener Library where we found “The Dark Wall,” from Escape , recommended to us by Sarah. Thanks, Sarah! This story, written by Kathleen Hite , tells the story of a man traveling through Andora with his wife. She starts to behave strangely, her love sometimes being replaced by blind terror, a fear that could cost either of t...

We are still celebrating the new year by listening to “Rain on New Year’s Eve,” an episode of Quiet, Please that was probably inspired by Wyllis Cooper’s time spent working on Son of Frankenstein ! The story features a beleaguered screenwriter who is trapped in a seemingly endless film production. Can anything convince this director to stop changing the script and just finish the movie? Where did...

Happy holidays, everyone! Please join us as we celebrate with Campbell Playhouse’s 1939 version of A Christmas Carol featuring Orson Welles and Lionel Barrymore . This treasured annual tradition tells the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, whose miserly ways summon three spirits to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. Was Barrymore’s performance the definitive Scrooge? Is death really the only altern...

It’s time once again for our annual holiday trip to the danger light by the rails! For the third year, we are listening to an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “ The Signal-Man ,” this time adapted by the South African series, Beyond Midnight ! As before, this story depicts a curious stranger who encounters a rail worker beset by visions. What tragedy do his visions portend?...

There’s no better way to celebrate a winter wonderland than listening to “The Snowman Killing” from Fear on Four ! This intense tale of suburban horror features a chilling performance by Imelda Staunton . (And at no point in the discussion afterwards do we identify her as the actress who played Dolores Jane Umbridge in the Harry Potter films!) Is this mother of twins truly facing some supernatural...

This week, our visit to the Listener Library brings us an episode of Lights Out , “Come to the Bank,” recommended to us by our Mysterious Listener Kristaps! Thanks, Kristaps! In this Arch Oboler story, a desperate woman pleads with the listener to accompany her to the bank. She has an improbable tale about a man who believes the power of concentration and will can accomplish supernatural feats. Co...

We recently polled our mysterious listeners to recommend a show that we have not listened to yet. The winner was Broadway is My Beat ! Detective Danny Clover is called down to the morgue to examine a body that has evidently been killed twice. The ensuing investigation presents Danny with a wide array of eccentric suspects. Will he be able to discern the truth amid all these peculiar conversations?...

We finish our month of gratitude by saying, “Thank you!” to David, who supports this podcast at the highest level on Patreon ! David requested that we listen to “The Martian Chronicles” from Dimension X ! Thanks, David! Ray Bradbury’s famous anthology of interconnected stories presents the colonization of the red planet and explores the impact it has on humanity. Is Mars the perfect place to watch...

We continue to spend November saying, “Thank you!” to those who support our Patreon at the highest level! David wrote us a lovely message which included a request that we listen to “Quiet Please,” a script which served as the final episode of the series, Quiet Please . Thanks, David! The tale features the lone survivor of a war-torn civilization who rhapsodizes about all that was lost and the path...

It’s a month of Thanksgiving and we are saying, “Thanks!” to some of our Patreon supporters! Our supporter Joseph asked that we listen to “The Silent Avenger,” an episode of The Shadow ! A convict condemned to execution threatens the death of the judge, jurors, and governor. When his predicted victims start to turn up dead from bullet wounds, the Shadow begins a desperate search for the man fulfil...

Happy Halloween from the MORLS! We are celebrating the holiday by listening to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater version of “Dracula,” featuring Mercedes McCambridge ! A sudden sickness has befallen Lucy Westenra, suspiciously just as Count Dracula arrives! Can her friend, Mina, save her from a horrific fate? Will Mina herself fall victim to this grisly (yet sensuous) condition? Do you find CBSRMT and...

It was a dark and stormy night when your hosts retrieved this episode of The Weird Circle from their Listener Library, recommended to them by Jill. Thanks. Jill! “The House and the Brain,” is an adaptation of a story by Edward Bulwer-Lytton and it features a couple whose interest in a sinister-looking portrait leads them to a house haunted by ghosts. Or is it actually a story about an immortal hyp...

We return to one of the earliest series that we featured on this podcast, The Price of Fear ! Today we hop on a train with the series’ star Vincent Price for the episode, “The Man Who Hated Scenes,” featuring fellow horror icon Peter Cushing . Price sits down for breakfast with a stranger who has a macabre tale to tell. Why was he traveling without his wife? Is he truly as nervous as he seems? How...